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Dr Mohammed Ibrahim Awal, Minister for Tourism Arts and Culture has disclosed that plans are advanced for all roads leading to tourist sites in the county to be fixed as a step to improve tourism infrastructure as well as patronage.

He indicated that government intends to invest heavily in the tourism sector to strengthen its base to create jobs and employment for an estimated one million youth in the country and called on all stakeholders to support the industry in that direction.

The Minister made this known when he paid a courtesy call on Osagyefo Amoatia Ofori-Panin, the Okyenhene at Kyebi, and met with industry players in Koforidua as part of a day's working tour of the Eastern Region.

Dr Awal hinted that processes had begun to identify and develop two iconic tourists sites in the Eastern Region to international standards as part of the job creation drive and tourism and expressed hope that the traditional authorities would support the ministry to realize that goal.

He observed that the covid-19 pandemic had dealt a huge blow in the tourism sector disclosing that the sector recorded a decline of over one million tourist visits in 2019 to less than 300,000 tourists in 2020 "undoubtedly this has resulted in the loss of thousands of jobs as well, aside from all others" he added.

The Minister who later in the company of Mr Seth Acheampong Eastern Regional Minister and Mr Okraku Mantey, deputy Tourism Minister visited the Boti falls and the Bunso arboretum urged the management of Boti falls to gear up towards infrastructure improvement.

On domestic tourism, he said the Ministry was putting measures in place as part of post-covid-19 plans to ensure that at least one million Ghanaians every year would have visited tourist sites across the country.